Today’s JAR : Christmas is a religious holiday, not a shopping season.

It’s so easy to get caught up in the Christmas shopping season and the false sense of want. Ads and catalogues are being sent to our homes competing for attention. You probably think you need another “this” or two more of “that.” The double page layouts can be very convincing. Surely you know someone, anyone, who would appreciate item 4B on page 15, in multiple colors and sizes.

But this kind of thinking is exhausting, especially if you try to maintain it for 6 weeks, (which is evident by the abandoned naked pine trees and dark homes on December 26.)

Justify it as the virtue of giving all you like. The truth is that it’s all a distraction from what really matters. Christmas is a religious holiday, not a shopping season.

Jesus Christ, the Word of God, who created the universe, has chosen to enter into the limits of his creation. And not as a mature man with the rights and privileges of adulthood, but as a tiny, vulnerable baby.

This is something awesome, something worthy of greater reflection than a moment of silence before you dig into a well-laid feast or rip open the boxes under the tree.

Keeping the Advent Fast is the best way to remember that Christmas is a religious holiday.

Why? Fasting requires us to delay the celebration of Christ’s birth until Christ’s birthday. It also allows the days preceding said celebration to be one of reflection and preparation. If I might interject a commonly used phrase, it’s “the reason for the season.”

Don’t let the holiday activity distract you from the end prize, which is actually just the beginning.

The Advent Fast lasts November 15-December 24. There is no fasting December 25- January 6, (except January 5 which is a strict fast day in preparation for Theophany.)

May we have a blessed fast which will prepare us for a glorious feast!

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Vassi M Haros is a designer, photographer, blogger, wife and mom. She enjoys Southern living and thinks everyone should experience the South's hospitality. Called to serve Christ and the Orthodox Church, Vassi enjoys being able to offer note cards with an Orthodox Voice. She hopes you enjoy her photos and cards.
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